Aiyima A07 Max Amplifier Review

[doug s.]

Where have you seen any details on 12a specification?
They have mentioned 48v 10a max in the table on their portal and Amazon as well.

i knew i saw it somewhere; besides the 10a on the table, it's also shown w/12a on their website (they're a little less expensive buying from yimaglobal):
https://www.aiyima.com/products/aiyima-a07-max?variant=46847926239508

doug s,

 

[Guddu]

i knew i saw it somewhere; besides the 10a on the table, it's also shown w/12a on their website (they're a little less expensive buying from yimaglobal):
https://www.aiyima.com/products/aiyima-a07-max?variant=46847926239508
View attachment 349679
doug s,

I see, however I would really not be comfortable enough to use 12a psu myself.

 

[doug s.]

I see, however I would really not be comfortable enough to use 12a psu myself.

unless you have really inefficient speakers, i think the 48v/5a p/s is sufficient...

doug s.

 

[Guddu]

unless you have really inefficient speakers, i think the 48v/5a p/s is sufficient...

doug s.

Totally agree.

 

[Abstracted]

I'm looking for a 2-channel (or dual mono) high SQ amp on the cheap that can run with a 2 ohm load. Running 2 A07 Max' in mono seems to fit the bill.
Unfortunately the preferred Fosi ZA3 isn't rated down to 2 ohms.

Is there anything else out there I should consider?

 

[doug s.]

I'm looking for a 2-channel (or dual mono) high SQ amp on the cheap that can run with a 2 ohm load. Running 2 A07 Max' in mono seems to fit the bill.
Unfortunately the preferred Fosi ZA3 isn't rated down to 2 ohms.

Is there anything else out there I should consider?

you may want to query fosi about its ability to handle a 2 ohm load; i'd think it could as it seems the architecture for the fosi and aiyima amps are similar. and the fosi v3 is rated to 2 ohms. and, while fosi doesn't provide the power info for a 2 ohm load, it does say the amp is rated to handle 2 ohms:

and, by the same measure, i'd also query aiyima as i suspect its a07 max can also handle 2 ohm loads when in stereo mode, even tho it's not specifically shown in a graph. or maybe both amps can only handle 2 ohms when in mono? but the fosi v3 is rated to 2 ohms, and can't be set to mono.

and i'm not sure what would be preferred about the fosi, unless running balanced is a necessity. and i wonder if it's truly balanced, or just allows use of balanced interconnects? in which case, using adapters will allow balanced interconnects to plug into the aiyima. and, re: trigger, you can simply turn the aiyimas off manually, if you're concerned about the 6w they use when left on w/o any load.

w/o having heard either amp, i preferred the a07 max simply because of its speaker connection layout, and having its mono switch on the bottom of the amp. and i think they happen to sound great. of course, i suspect the za3's are similar in that regard.

doug s.

 

[Abstracted]

you may want to query fosi about its ability to handle a 2 ohm load; i'd think it could as it seems the architecture for the fosi and aiyima amps are similar. and the fosi v3 is rated to 2 ohms. and, while fosi doesn't provide the power info for a 2 ohm load, it does say the amp is rated to handle 2 ohms:
View attachment 349885
and, by the same measure, i'd also query aiyima as i suspect its a07 max can also handle 2 ohm loads when in stereo mode, even tho it's not specifically shown in a graph. or maybe both amps can only handle 2 ohms when in mono? but the fosi v3 is rated to 2 ohms, and can't be set to mono.

and i'm not sure what would be preferred about the fosi, unless running balanced is a necessity. and i wonder if it's truly balanced, or just allows use of balanced interconnects? in which case, using adapters will allow balanced interconnects to plug into the aiyima. and, re: trigger, you can simply turn the aiyimas off manually, if you're concerned about the 6w they use when left on w/o any load.

w/o having heard either amp, i preferred the a07 max simply because of its speaker connection layout, and having its mono switch on the bottom of the amp. and i think they happen to sound great. of course, i suspect the za3's are similar in that regard.

doug s.

I'll ask Fosi, but in the meantime the Fosi V3 also has a Terminating Imp of 2-8 ohms.

Here's a video of what happens to it with a 2 ohm load:

 

[doug s.]

I'll ask Fosi, but in the meantime the Fosi V3 also has a Terminating Imp of 2-8 ohms.

Here's a video of what happens to it with a 2 ohm load:

so, it goes into protect at 310w/322w w/a 2 ohm load. and, how often are you going to run the amp to over 300w? that would be 108db 8' away, w/a pair of 85db efficient speakers 2'-4' out from the rear wall. i'd query the williston audio guy how high it would go w/o going into protect mode.

doug s.

 

[Abstracted]

so, it goes into protect at 310w/322w w/a 2 ohm load. and, how often are you going to run the amp to over 300w? that would be 108db 8' away, w/a pair of 85db efficient speakers 2'-4' out from the rear wall. i'd query the williston audio guy how high it would go w/o going into protect mode.

doug s.

Good point.

And it turns out I was wrong to use the V3 as a comparison. Fosi says the ZA3 can drive a 2 ohm load, and in either mono and stereo.

I'm waiting on their reply regarding the rated power @ 2 ohms with both power supplies.

 

[gokul26896]

Has anyone tried connecting a passive sub to the speakers itself, so that both left and right speaker are connected to one sub, while the speakers are in stereo with the amplifier?
Like copying the bass signals form the speakers to the sub?

 

[Abstracted]

Good point.

And it turns out I was wrong to use the V3 as a comparison. Fosi says the ZA3 can drive a 2 ohm load, and in either mono and stereo.

I'm waiting on their reply regarding the rated power @ 2 ohms with both power supplies.

Fosi's response was that they don't have the equipment to measure a 2 ohm load

So I went ahead and got two A07 Max's and an AC relay (like a power strip) that receives a 12V trigger:

Amazon.com

Now I'm able to turn them on/off using my receiver.

 

[Monkey3017]

I just got the Ayima 07 MAX and connected it to the LS50. I must say, those are not a good match. The sibilants are very much pronounced.
I am not sure if the sound will improve over time, but I can hardly stand to listen to it at all.
I reconnected the Fosi V3 which sounds much more harmonic, actually very nice.
The Fosi is not as loud as the Ayima, the difference is about 5 degrees on the potentiometer. (Well, that was not scientific
The case of the Fosi is not as wide as the Ayima but deeper and higher, it looks much better in direct comparison.
The powersupply of the Ayima has a nice finish to it (EU Model).
I now wait for the Topping PA 5 II plus - it better fits optically to my stuff and has 2 inputs. I hope that it has more bass than the Fosi.

EDIT: The sound improved after a while - the sibilants are still pronounced for my ears.

 

[mike70]

I just got the Ayima 07 MAX and connected it to the LS50. I must say, those are not a good match. The sibilants are very much pronounced.
I am not sure if the sound will improve over time, but I can hardly stand to listen to it at all.
I reconnected the Fosi V3 which sounds much more harmonic, actually very nice.
The Fosi is not as loud as the Ayima, the difference is about 5 degrees on the potentiometer. (Well, that was not scientific
The case of the Fosi is not as wide as the Ayima but deeper and higher, it looks much better in direct comparison.
The powersupply of the Ayima has a nice finish to it (EU Model).
I now wait for the Topping PA 5 II plus - it better fits optically to my stuff and has 2 inputs. I hope that it has more bass than the Fosi.

"more bass"? ... a good power amplifier surely doesn't have "more bass", they are designed with a flat response. You can have some load dependency in high frequency (you "feel" like less bass) / less gain / power / something like that.

In other aspect, the LS50 aren't the best bass performers (very limited under 60 hz) and usually they are paired with a decent subwoofer for that.

 

[doug s.]

Has anyone tried connecting a passive sub to the speakers itself, so that both left and right speaker are connected to one sub, while the speakers are in stereo with the amplifier?
Like copying the bass signals form the speakers to the sub?

It's hard to make sense of your question. You could connect a passive sub to either the left or right channel of the amp, in parallel with a regular speaker, which would lower the amperage, ie, if both were rated 8 ohms, the amp's channel would see a 4 ohm load. But why would you do this? A passive sub would not appreciate seeing a full range frequency response.

You don't want to be connecting one sub's wire to one channel, and the other to the other channel of the amp. The amp will not be too happy, and you'll be lucky if it just doesn't work, and you haven't fried it. And even if, in theory, the amp could do it, the sub would still be seeing the full range frequency response.

Do it right - run your preamp (or source) to an active outboard crossover, amp to main speakers and amp to sub. Or better, run a pair of stereo subs.

doug s.

 

[doug s.]

I just got the Ayima 07 MAX and connected it to the LS50. I must say, those are not a good match. The sibilants are very much pronounced.
I am not sure if the sound will improve over time, but I can hardly stand to listen to it at all.
I reconnected the Fosi V3 which sounds much more harmonic, actually very nice.
The Fosi is not as loud as the Ayima, the difference is about 5 degrees on the potentiometer. (Well, that was not scientific
The case of the Fosi is not as wide as the Ayima but deeper and higher, it looks much better in direct comparison.
The powersupply of the Ayima has a nice finish to it (EU Model).
I now wait for the Topping PA 5 II plus - it better fits optically to my stuff and has 2 inputs. I hope that it has more bass than the Fosi.

I agree the fosi v3 looks nicer than the aiyima a07 max. But I preferred the function of the aiyima, so I bought them. They did sound a bit harsh when 1st connected to the tang band w8-1772's in my oris horns, running from 175hz-7khz. But they settled down after being left on 24/7 for a couple days. Enough so, that the almarro tube amp and class-a pass f2 clone are no longer in use. (The 2nd aiyima is driving the ribbon tweeters >7khz; not much happening >7khz, so no issues there.) After a few days, I replaced the stock op amps in the amp driving the tang band with a pair of discrete class-a akliam lc2 op amps. Everything got even better. Smoother, no loss of detail. But even with the stock op amps, everything settled in nicely after they were on for a bit. I did have to fab a case for the amp, as the replacement op amps don't fit.

I have a pair of ls50's; they need to be actively crossed over to subs, imo. Mine have been relegated to bedroom duties, so subs are no longer in use with them. But, besides their not having much bass to speak of, crossing them at 80hz improves their upper range frequency response as well.

doug s.

 

[Monkey3017]

"more bass"? ... a good power amplifier surely doesn't have "more bass", they are designed with a flat response. You can have some load dependency in high frequency (you "feel" like less bass) / less gain / power / something like that.

In other aspect, the LS50 aren't the best bass performers (very limited under 60 hz) and usually they are paired with a decent subwoofer for that.

I've just recieved the Topping PA5 II plus, and I must say, it's exactly what I was looking for. This amplifier effortlessly delivers the sound of each instrument, managing sibilant sounds well without suppressing them. It's three times the cost of the Fosi V3 and doesn't produce sound as loud as either the V3 or the Ayima, yet it pushes my L50 speakers to their full potential. In my opinion, it matches the quality of my old Class A amplifier's (room heater) bass while offering greater clarity in the higher tones. Although pricey, equivalent to the price of a Cambridge AXA25 amplifier, it's worth it for me. It may be my imagination, but with the Fosi and the Ayima I had the feeling of ultra sound beeing produced, something I am sensitive too.

 

[mike70]

I've just recieved the Topping PA5 II plus, and I must say, it's exactly what I was looking for. This amplifier effortlessly delivers the sound of each instrument, managing sibilant sounds well without suppressing them. It's three times the cost of the Fosi V3 and doesn't produce sound as loud as either the V3 or the Ayima, yet it pushes my L50 speakers to their full potential. In my opinion, it matches the quality of my old Class A amplifier's (room heater) bass while offering greater clarity in the higher tones. Although pricey, equivalent to the price of a Cambridge AXA25 amplifier, it's worth it for me. It may be my imagination, but with the Fosi and the Ayima I had the feeling of ultra sound beeing produced, something I am sensitive too.

Surely your "more bass feeling" is a flat high frequency response, because Topping have PFFB implemented and then a flat response amplifier at full spectrum, it doesn't have a "magical sauce" like exotic brands marketing try to sell.

At the end, I'm glad you have what you want, that's the right thing.

 

[dr_mick51]

I'm trying to understand the role of the Intermodulation distortion, and how it affect the audio performance.
From the Audiocheck website:

and from Wikipedia:

Basically is the creation of unwanted frequencies while playing 2 main frequencies.
During the amplifier tests we see this 19kHz and 20kHz test, but not so much importance is given. But basically this is a IMD test.

Let's show some examples:

Just by looking at these screenshots can we conclude one amp is better the others (IMD-wize)? Or one sounds better/cleaner than the others?
An amp with less sideband creates less unwanted frequencies, right? It should sound better, at least is closer to the ideal representation of one 19kHz and a 20kHz tones, right?
The third amp has the first sidebands (18kHz and 21kHz) at -70 and -68dB, while amps 1 and 2 have those bands at much lower levels (-78dB and -75dB). And amp 2 has the lower amount of sidebands not only in number but also in level.

I'm just trying to understand how this IMD affects the sound quality. What happens while playing music and hundreds of tones are played at the same time? another couple of hundreds of unwanted tones are also created?

By the way, amp 1 is Fosi V3, amp 2 is Aiyima A07 Max and amp 3 is the Fosi ZA3.

 

[trungdtmc]

I have no idea why Ayima use 50v electrolytic capacitor to decoupling

 

[Toku]

I have no idea why Ayima use 50v electrolytic capacitor to decoupling

I also noticed this early. I think AIYIMA thought that if you changed the main decupring capacitor to 63V, you would not notice this small electrolytic capacitor. Maybe the designer knew this matter. Aiyima's response is completely wrong.